Same Hell
by HogwartsAdoptedSon00
Summary: In which Ginny has a nightmare about the Battle and our dear Bill comes to the rescue. Purely sibling relationship.


_We're all playing the same game just different levels, dealing with the same hell just different devils._

Ginny Weasley sprung up in bed, her nightdress clinging to her sweat-soaked skin. Panting heavily, she took a deep gulp of water from the bottle that had been left there by her mother. Her eyes darted around the dark room nervously and leaning across her bed, Ginny grabbed her wand. Pointing it into the darkness of her bedroom, she whispered the incantation for the Lighting Charm. "Lumos."

As light flooded the room, her rapid breathing subsided but the images from her dream did not. Flashes of the Battle continued to float around in Ginny's mind and it was eating at her conscience. She hadn't killed anyone, but what if she had? Maybe Fred would still be alive, maybe Dennis would still have his brother, maybe Remus and Tonks would've survived to see their baby boy go to Hogwarts. But she didn't.

If she'd fought a little harder, maybe things would've been different. But the fact was that she hadn't. A heart-wrenching sob worked its way from her throat and shook her whole body. She knew that this was the way things were, it was a necessary evil that had to take place along the way…but why, why so many good people? If she'd known Fred would die guarding that damned passageway, she would not have listened when Harry told her to stay behind. If she had known that her brother would die, Ginny would've taken his jokes with a grain of salt and laughed with him a little longer, smiled a little harder. But those days were then and this was now.

Ginny had to move forward but she didn't know how.

The door opening interrupted her thoughts and she closed her eyes shut, preparing for the worst. Ginny pointed her wand at the door, preparing to attack the unfortunate soul that had stumbled upon her grieving. "Whose there?" Ginny spoke with all the authority that she could muster.

She heard the slow, steady steps approaching her bed and little by little, she felt her wand being turned away and tugged out of her hand slowly. "Ginny…it's just me. It's Bill," his cool, familiar voice came. "Open your eyes, s'nothing to be afraid of Ginny."

Ginny's eyes opened slowly and the figure in front her was surely her brother, Bill. She was ashamed of herself as she watched her brother set her wand down on the nightstand. Merlin, she had just threatened her _own brother _with her wand. "I'm so sorry, Bill. I hadn't rea—"

"It's alright," Bill said gently brushing off the fact that he had nearly been attacked. "Having trouble sleeping?" he assumed as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

She nodded slowly, pulling her knees up to her chest. "How'd you know?"

He smiled slightly but it fell as soon it came. "You should use stronger silencing charms. Silencio Maxima usually works better than the regular incantation."

Ginny smiled, acknowledging his suggestion. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Bill, can I ask you something?"

"You know the answer's always going to be yes with me, Ginny," he said his hazel eyes searching her face for any clue of what she might be thinking.

"Do you…well…still…do you still have nightmares?" the question blurted itself out of Ginny's mouth and she was grateful. It had been something that she was itching to get off her chest but with everyone still trying to wrap their minds around it finally being finished, it seemed like such a selfish thought.

Bill laughed and rubbed his thighs nervously. "Sometimes, it's Fleur mostly though. That's how I know about Silencio Maxima. She cast it on the door of the bathroom and spent ages in their screaming. I didn't even know."

"Oh," she replied, obviously disheartened.

"I guess I don't need to ask you," he said rubbing her shoulder gently. "How bad are they?"

The thought of it, just trying to recall the torturous dreams, was enough to make her close her eyes and try to push the thought away. "They're awful. I see people that didn't die, dying. And I keep seeing Bellatrix killing Mum. "

"Mum really finished that witch, didn't she?" Bill said with a bit of a chuckle, trying to lighten the moment a bit.

Ginny smiled as she remembered the duel. Molly had shouted at the other students to not intervene, that Bellatrix was hers to finish. "She deserved what she got. She was one of the Death Eaters that blasted that wall and…and…"

"Killed Fred," he finished softly, wiping tears from his face as they fell.

Her forehead fell against his shoulder and being the oldest, he was taught to be strong. No, he felt it was his job to be strong for his siblings in the face of fire. Bill wrapped an arm around Ginny's shoulder. He could feel her warm tears soak through his thin t-shirt, but she made no sound. Probably too tired, he thought. "Does Harry know?"

"Oh he's the last person I'd tell," Ginny sniffled quietly. "He's got enough of his own to deal with. He doesn't need mine to deal with too."

Bill pushed her off of him and held her chin between his fingers so she had no choice but to look at him. "Trust me, he wants to know. Harry…no matter how much our dear Charlie threatens him, everyone knows that Harry's a good bloke."

"He barely talks to me," Ginny countered.

Bill sighed deeply and kissed his sister's forehead. "He doesn't know what to do, Ginny. He's so used to running around after danger. There's nothing for him to do and he feels useless."

"Harry told you all that?"

"In more or less words."

Ginny stood up and threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "That irritating git—he'll talk to my older brother but he won't talk to me! I'm his girlfriend or at least I'm supposed to be!"

Bill tugged on her wrist, bringing her to sit back down on the bed. "He wants to. Trust me, he does. He just doesn't know how. In case you haven't noticed, it's just been the guys talking among the other guys."

Ginny's nose wrinkled at that, this explanation wasn't much better than the first. "But he can talk to me too. Am I not approachable? Have we not been through the same thing? Did we not fight in the same war?"

Bill ruffled his sister's hair and leaned back in her bed. "You know Ginny, you haven't been through the same thing. You fought in the same war, yeah. But you've got a family, you've always had a family. This is the first time Harry's ever had a proper one. The poor bloke doesn't think he deserves it."

"That's crazy talk, Bill."

Bill shrugged. "Maybe so, Ginny," he said as she laid her head in his lap. "But it's the truth. And it's one we've got to deal with because we're all in the same game just different levels and we're dealing with the same hell just different devils."

"What Muggle song did you get that from?" Ginny asked her eyes wondering questioningly.

"Go to sleep, Ginny," he said ignoring her question. "You won't have any more nightmares." Ginny and Bill were silent for a few moments after that and not too long after, she fell asleep, her head on Bill's shoulder.

And for once, the nightmares never came back.


End file.
